Bird's the word: How one of New Zealand's most dangerous intersections became Napier's gateway

The roundabout has two wings, an eye and a beak when viewed from the air (although unfortunately there is no flight path directly over it). Photo / Paul Taylor

The intersection at Watchman Rd used to be one of the most dangerous in New Zealand, and fixing it proved a challenge for planners.

At the New Zealand Planning Institutes annual conference in Napier, Nick Aiken, who worked on the project, said even he was scared by the initial road layout at what is now the northern gateway into Napier.

"It was regarded with a level ... of fear by the locals, including me.

"It was quite fascinating to see the interesting approaches to that roundabout that people might take."

There were multiple challenges when it came to fixing it, he said.

A growing airport, important heritage site, an internationally significant wetland and multiple stakeholders and interested parties made the challenge of fixing it more difficult.

They also needed to push the consent process through quickly, and so needed support from the local community so as not to get complaints.

Aiken said they had to build something the locals wanted to see.

He said they spent a lot of time very early in the project engaging stakeholders in the area.

They started to look at the significance of a bird called kuaka (godwit), which flies between New Zealand and Alaska each year, and is found in the wetland by the airport.

The aim was not just to create a roundabout, but a gateway into Napier when arriving from the north and from the air.

They worked with local artist Jacob Scott, and the solution was found.

"We came with the idea, we can make this a kuaka, so the entire intersection, the roundabout, became a kuaka."

The roundabout has two wings, an eye and a beak when viewed from the air (although unfortunately there is no flight path directly over it).

Other aspects to the area as a whole include story signs, about kuaka, the wetlands and the gateway.

There are also 87 small whare along the boardwalk, each relating to a marae somewhere in Hawke's Bay.

As well as the whare, there are pou representing Ngati Kahungunu ancestors.

The result was a gateway into the city with positive feedback from locals, Aitken said.

"This is a good example of where urban design and landscape design can be used to help get through that consenting process."